Surge protection for POTS and CATV

[lile001]

NFPA 780 recommends using surge protection at electrical services, POTS and CATV entrances, in addition to the lightning rods and down conductors we normally associate with lightning protection.

Now, I have seen lots of surge protectors for electrical equipment, either plugged into the panel or wired in secondary surge protectors. However, I haven't seen stuff for phone and other equipment, aside from those power strips with a phone jack in them. That wouldn't work for a large apartment buildign with a punchdown board, and I havent located any products that work for this. My local electrical warehouse was stumped too.

We used to have a house that would regularly blow up our phone answering machine until I soldered some MOV's on my side of the NID, but I never found anything that was really meant to wire into the phone system.

Can anyone recommend a company that manufactures surge pretection compatible with phone and other communications lines?

 

[roger3829]

Try this website

http://www.ditekcorp.com/

You can also check with your local security systems parts dealer.:smile:

 

[wshoard]

For the phone lines you need a Sneak Current Fuse assembly. Something like these: http://helpdesk.portasystems.com/download/Copper/PSC_575.pdf

For the CATV you we always just use a standard ground block like these: http://www.outletpc.com/c6239.html

 

[grich]

Try this link:

http://www.polyphaser.com/productdata.aspx?class=prod

I have their single-line POTS protectors at a couple of transmitter sites. Good stuff...bring your checkbook, though.

 

[wshoard]

The Polyphaser stuff is really good. In the old C-Band days their protector was the only one that could be counted on to work. We also used a lot of their data line protectors. I've seen sites hit where the Cat-3 data lines vaporized and the devise on each end lived to process another day.